Flash: The Closet

[Bdoomed]

Flash: The Closet

By Barton Paul Levenson

Read by Alasdair Stuart

London, 1847. A tall, thin young man came into a shop and nervously removed his top hat. Snow fell silently in the streets as the sun went down. The cobbled street held no carriages or other pedestrians.

The proprietor stood behind the counter. He was taller and fatter than the young man. He had jowls, and hair that was black on top and white in the sideburns. “And what may I do for you today, sir?”

The young man gulped and fidgeted with his hat for a moment. Then he seemed to grow calm. “I am here to see about a closet,” he said firmly.



Listen to this Pseudopod Flash.

[bolddeceiver]

Anything more than a suicide allegory here?

Not that it's a problem if it's just that; it was at least a well-written one.

[DKT]

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.

I thought this was interesting.  I was able to follow it, at least.  I took it to be a little fable (more or less) about a man sure he wanted to see the dark side, the horror, and then once he got there, changed his mind.  I didn't think of suicide initially, but now that you mention it, yeah, that works, too.

[Kevin David Anderson]

I didn't get a suicide vibe from this one - I really think its just allegorical, commenting on the choices we make in life - I think that's is why all the rooms were presented, each highlighting a different color.  Or, come to think of it, it could have been about marriage in a way - all the rooms before were the women he saw but passed on then finally decided, and married one. (locked in)  Thinking that if you lived in a time when divorce was not really much of an option for certain classes. 

[DarkKnightJRK]

Short, but very creepy. Kudos to all involved.

[Unblinking]

I didn't get this one at all.
Guy shops for closets, finds one, salesman warns him he won't be able to get back out but he doesn't care, once inside he regrets.  Uhhhh... okay?  I feel like I missed something.

Regardless of what I missed, I don't like stories where the events themselves don't make sense that are only used to make a point or send a message. 

[Millenium_King]

Just like "Secret Boxes" I felt like this one was more like the transcription of a dream and less so a complete story.  Creepy, surreal imagery - but no plot or arc.  Just like "The Thing in the Moonlight" by H.P. Lovecraft - creepy, surreal but nothing really happens.